Scientists may have discovered a way of identifying dieters who are prone to piling the pounds back on after weight loss. A study at Maastricht University’s Department of Human Biology found a link between a gene involved in regulating blood pressure and post-diet weight gain in women. Women who regained weight after slimming had a high change in the concentration of a particular protein in their blood during dieting, research showed. Researchers now hope to develop a test to indicate how prone people are to yo-yo dieting.

Edwin Mariman, professor of functional genetics at Maastricht, said: “It was a surprising discovery, because until now there has been no clear link between this protein and obesity. “We do not yet have an explanation for the results, but it does appear that it should be possible within a few years to use this finding to develop a test to show who is at high risk of putting weight back on after a diet.”

Hospitals already conduct tests for the protein, known as the angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE). But the test is currently carried out to check its activity in regulating blood pressure, rather than its concentration. Up 80% of dieters suffer from the yo-yo effect, returning to their original weight within a year.

The study looked at around 100 women aged 20 to 45, half of whom had maintained their post-diet weight and half of whom had put weight back on. The findings of the research have been published by Dr Ping Wang, a scientist in Professor Mariman’s research group, in the online scientific journal PloS ONE.

Treating obese women's depression may help them lose weight, a new study suggests. Although researchers couldn't determine which condition may cause the other, obesity and depression frequently strike together. Obese women who saw their depression lessened in a treatment program also lost more weight than women whose depression didn't improve or worsened, researchers said.

“I expect that the relationship between depression and physical activity goes in both directions,” said study researcher Dr. Gregory Simon, a senior investigator and psychiatrist at Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. “Increased physical activity leads to improvement in depression, and improvement in depression leads to increased physical activity.” “You can't prove which came first.”

The researchers evaluated 203 women, ages 40 to 65, who had an average body mass index of 38.3 at the study's start, and found that obesity increased a woman's risk of depression by 50 percent to 150 percent.

Participants were then split into two groups: one focused only on helping the women lose weight, and the other also treating the women's depression. The researchers held 26 group treatment sessions over 12 months, and checked in on the women six, 12 and 24 months after the study began.

Of those whose depression had loosened its grip — as measured by a small drop on a test called the Hopkins Symptom Checklist depression score — 38 percent had lost at least 5 percent of their body weight. Of those whose depression scores stayed the same or increased, 21 percent lost that much weight.

While the study's purpose wasn't to make recommendations about exercise, Simon said, it's advisable for people suffering from depression to seek more opportunities for physical activity. “There certainly is evidence that exercise alone is an effective treatment for depression, whether you're overweight or obese or not, or even if you're a normal weight,” he said.

The study was unusual because it focused on the sometimes-overlooked link between depression and obesity, without focusing solely on the role of weight loss, said Robert E. Thayer, a psychology professor at California State University in Long Beach who has researched how people regulate their moods with food and exercise.

“These findings suggest that, like other negative moods that motivate eating as a kind of self-medication, depression is no exception,” said Thayer, who was not involved with the study. “It's a useful addition to the scientific literature.”

Simon said future studies could focus on learning which antidepressants — many of which can bring on weight gain as a side effect — contribute most to that situation. “Losing weight can certainly have a positive effect on people's moods,” he said.

The research was published in the November/December issue of the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.

Diets that encourage and promise rapid weight loss often lead to weight being regained just as quickly. Australian women spend over $400 million per year in a fruitless quest to be slim, with 95% of people who go on weight loss diets regaining everything they have lost plus more within two years.

Not only are many popular diets ineffective, but they are also a health risk. Research into popular diet books has found that only one in four diets reviewed met current nutrition guidelines with many eliminating important, nutritious foods.

The Dietitians Association recommends weight loss diets that:

Meet individual nutritional and health needs

Fit with individual lifestylesInclude a wide variety of foods from all food groups

Promote physical activity

Focus on realistic life-long changes to eating and exercise habits.

The Dietitians Association does not recommend weight loss diets that:

Cut out entire food groups or specific nutritious foods

Promote and promise rapid weight loss without the supervision of a dietitian and doctor

Focus on short-term changes to eating and exercise habits

Recommend unusual foods or eating patterns

Encourage miracle pills and potions.

There is no one magic or ‘ideal’ weight loss diet. It is possible to lose weight while meeting individual nutrition and lifestyle needs through a variety of approaches.

To lose weight and keep it off see an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) like Nastaran. Nastaran can help you get off the dieting merry go round by developing a lifestyle plan that’s right for you and can be followed for life.